Fire of land: prologue
Jayfeather sat in his den, ripping apart Burdock leaves. The den held little and there was almost no sunlight inside the den except the sun flowing in through the tiny holes and cracks in the walls. The bramble entrance to the den rustled as one of the ThunderClan cats pounded in. Jayfeather turned his blind gaze towards the unfamiliar cat and sniffed the air. "Cinderheart, what's wrong?" he asked in alarm. Cinderheart held up her paw. "I just got a thorn stuck in there when I was patrolling," she explained quietly. Jayfeather beckoned her over with a wave of his tail and a flick of his ears. Cinderheart hopped over to him and sat on her haunches slowly. Jayfeather heard her make a grunt in her throat. "Is your leg hurting too?" he asked. "A little," she mewed quietly. Jayfeather said, "Sit down." and he picked up a mouthful of Burdock leaves. He put them down at her paws. "Chew these and rub them on your wound after I pull this thing out." he meowed. Cinderheart nodded her head slowly and closed her eyes tightly, as if she was terrified. Jayfeather leaned close to Cinderheart and saw she was opening her eyes slowly. She looked up immediately, Jayfeather leaning downward and grabbing a hold of the thorn. With a jerk of his head, he yanked the thorn out. Cinderheart let out a yowl and winced. She peeled her eyes open and let out a deep breath. "Chew the leaves." Jayfeather reminded her as he padded to the small waterfall in the corner of the den to wash his paws. Cinderheart chewed her herbs slowly, watching Jayfeather with respect, adoration, and admiration.Cinderheart chewed the herbs quickly and spread them onto her bloody paw. She looked at Jayfeather. "Jayfeather?" she inquired in a short whisper. "What?" he meowed back without looking up from what he was doing. "Well... never mind. Thank you,"she mewed back and stood up, starting to walk away. She stepped on her wounded paw the wrong way and let out a pained moan and fell down. Jayfeather looked up from his work and walked to her side. "You okay?" he asked. Cinderheart stood up and shook the dirt from her fur. "Fine," she answered quickly and sadly. Jayfeather shook his head. "Is your leg bothering you?" "No," she lied. "I can tell you're lying," "I'm not lying, Jayfeather," "I can tell you are," Jayfeather insisted. "I am NOT LY--" Jayfeather touched her nose with his quickly and turned her around with his paw. "Go. And be careful." he meowed firmly and padded away. Cinderheart's fur fluffed up and she bounded away carefully, her ears hot with embarrassment. Cinderheart walked out into the sunlight and sat by the fresh-kill pile and picked through it. A vole, a sparrow, and a giant rabbit. Cinderheart picked up the rabbit with her good paw and held it by the tail in her jaws. She thought, Maybe Jayfeather would want to share this with me... he looked a little hungry. Lionblaze bounded over to her. "Cinderheart!" he exclaimed, startling her. Cinderheart dropped the rabbit and looked behind her. "Oh... hi, Lionblaze," she mewed sweetly. Lionblaze spotted the rabbit. "Have a big appetite today?" he teased. "Well... no. I was planning to eat with Jayfeather," Cinderheart explained. Lionblaze looked a little bothered by that. He shook his head. "Why don't you share with me? Jayfeather's probably busy, right?" he meowed. "I guess so," Cinderheart muttered sadly. She pawed the rabbit over to Lionblaze and bent over, her back hunched, next to Lionblaze. They devoured the rabbit together. Jayfeather walked out to the clearing as Cinderheart sat in the clearing, cleaning her paw and ears. She saw him and she felt her pelt burn and her heart beat fast. She felt terrible for ever believing they could be more than just clanmates, or letting Lionblaze eat with her. "Jayfeather." she mewed quietly. Jayfeather's ears twitched and he gazed at her blindly. Cinderheart turned and walked away, scared to talk to him. Jayfeather looked down as he walked to the fresh-kill pile. He picked up the small vole and walked back to the Medicine den. At sundown, Jayfeather emerged from his den for a small meal, seeing as Cinderheart was returning from her hunting with his other clanmates. "Jayfeather!" Poppyfrost called out, emerging from the bramble entrance to camp. She caught up to him and stood in front of him, holding a plump sparrow. "Would you like to share?" she asked, batting her eyes. Jayfeather glanced blindly at Cinderheart, who was staring back at him with sad and begging eyes. He nodded and sat with Poppyfrost, who was purring. Cinderheart whimpered as she passed the two, dropped the fresh-kill she caught, and walked away to the Warriors' den. She curled up in her nest, her nose tucked underneath her paws, and tried to fall asleep. But, sleep wouldn't come. Why had Jayfeather seemed so mad at her? Was it because she shared that giant rabbit with Lionblaze, or was it for another reason that she didn't know? Why was he eating with Poppyfrost, anyway? Poppyfrost cleaned her paws and ears as she licked her lips to ensure she had eaten the last bits of the sparrow. Jayfeather licked his paws, his belly comfortably full. He stood up, thanked Poppyfrost with a whisker twitch, and walked off. Poppyfrost walked to the Warriors den, where she took the nest beside her sister. "You okay, Cinderheart?" she asked, smiling. "Yeah, just fine," Cinderheart murmured. "I'm going to go see Jayfeather. I can't sleep." Without another word, Cinderheart got up out of her nest and left her sister. Poppyfrost stared at her sister as she lay her head down on her paws to summon sleep to come upon her. Jayfeather sat on the floor of the Medicine den, pulling the petals from chamomile flowers and putting them into a large, cupped leaf. Cinderheart wandered into the den and sat down. "Jayfeather?" she meowed softly. "Yeah?" he asked, quietly. "I can't sleep. Is there anything at all you could use to make me sleep, maybe?" Cinderheart asked sweetly. "Sure. Four poppy seeds" --Jayfeather wet his paw with water and dipped his paw into a pile of poppy seeds, shaking off the rest. He hopped over to Cinderheart and held out his paw-- "and you'll be sleeping almost immediately," "If I'm falling asleep almost immediately, won't I do that in the middle of the clearing?" asked Cinderheart in a challenging tone. Jayfeather said nothing. "Are you saying I should sleep here?" she asked. "I guess... if you... want to... you can... yes," Jayfeather said, quietly. His ears felt hot. Cinderheart's fur stood on end and she licked the poppy seeds from Jayfeather's paws. She lied down in the nearest nest. Jayfeather didn't say anything, but that was his nest. He walked over to that nest and lied down next to her. Cinderheart looked at Jayfeather. "Jayfeather?" she said. Jayfeather looked right back at Cinderheart with a large intensity, it was as if he weren't blind. "Yes?" "...Never mind... good night," Cinderheart muttered and her eyes drooped into a heavy sleep. Cinderheart was awoken by the sound of Leafpool shouting angrily at Jayfeather. She sat up, realizing she was still in Jayfeather's nest, and still in the medicine den. Jayfeather looked as if he'd either spontaneously explode from anger or break down into cries of defeat. Leafpool stopped speaking and stared at Cinderheart with furious and hateful eyes. Jayfeather stopped yowling and stomped away, muttering to himself. Cinderheart felt uncomfortably awkward, being alone with Leafpool, so she followed Jayfeather. "Jayfeather? What's wrong?" she asked. "Leafpool's mad at me for sharing a nest with you," Jayfeather spat back. "I'm sorry, Jayfeather. I... I didn't know that you'd get in trouble! I'd never have done it if I knew--" Cinderheart stammered. "Well, it happened and now I'm in huge trouble with the Warrior Code!" he snapped. Cinderheart flinched at his words. "I... I'm sorry I made you... oh never mind!" Cinderheart pelted out into the forest, afraid to finish talking. Jayfeather looked down and sat on his haunches by the fresh-kill pile. He knew everyone saw them quarreling at one another. With that thought, his ears grew hot with embarrassment. Poppyfrost padded out of the Warriors den and sat next to Jayfeather. "Hi there," she said, smiling. Jayfeather stared blankly at the ground, anyway. "In a bad mood?" she guessed. "Obviously. What gave it away, dare I ask? I bet you saw that," Jayfeather meowed in an irritated tone. "Since you seem to be busy being a mouse-brain, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Poppyfrost bounded away to meet Firestar at the bottom of the highledge. Jayfeather watched Poppyfrost, sighing. Things wouldn't have ever been so complicated if he only hadn't such a terrible, as he thought of it, destiny. Lionblaze walked through the forest slowly, wanting to hear the sound of prey very badly. He heard rustling in a nearby bush as he turned around to make his way back to camp. Cinderheart padded out of the bush, slowly, but stopped as she saw Lionblaze. "Hi, Lionblaze." she mewed softly, forcing a smile. "Hi there Cinderheart. Are you okay? You don't sound too good." he sounded worried. Cinderheart shrugged. "Not really," she meowed, shrugging her shoulders and continuing. "Jayfeather and I got into an argument," "Well... how about we go hunting or something to get our minds off of it?" Lionblaze suggested with a smile. "You go ahead. I need to go back to camp. To talk to Jayfeather. I mean, I don't want to be his enemy," said Cinderheart gently. She padded off, leaving Lionblaze to pout in the middle of the woods in Thunderclan territory. Cinderheart padded nearer and nearer to the bramble entrance to camp. She entered the camp with little attentiveness and went straight to the Medicine den. "Jayfeather?" she called. No answer. She called again, "Jayfeather?" "What?" said the sleepy voice of the gray-striped Medicine cat. Cinderheart padded over to where she heard his voice, which was in his nest, and sat beside him. "What do you want?" Jayfeather asked again. Cinderheart lied down beside him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I want to talk about what happened," "Why? There's nothing to talk about. You acted the way you did and that's the end of it." "It's all me now?" "I never said that," Jayfeather argued. "Yes, you did," Cinderheart mewed. "I said nothing about that," Cinderheart growled. Poppyfrost padded into the Medicine den, carrying a plump vole. She dropped it beside Jayfeather. "I got this from the pile for you. Would you like to share it?" she asked, flirtatiously. Jayfeather nodded slowly. "Do you MIND, Poppyfrost?" Cinderheart hissed. "Cinderheart," said Jayfeather. Cinderheart turned her attention to Jayfeather. "Just go away if you have nothing worth anyone's while to say," Jayfeather's cold words rang in her head like church bells. "I DO have something worth while but you won't listen!" argued Cinderheart. "Then say it now!" Jayfeather demanded. "Poppyfrost is right here!" Cinderheart complained. "It's something you can't say in front of your own sister, Cinderheart?" said Poppyfrost. "It's between Jayfeather and I!" meowed Cinderheart. Poppyfrost stormed out of the medicine den. Jayfeather waited. "Well?" he meowed. "Jayfeather, I'm sorry I got you in trouble with Leafpool. I want to be just acquaintances. It makes it harder on me and I know it's getting you in trouble. It's best if we just don't talk to each other anymore," Cinderheart murmured sadly as she turned around and stepped out of the Medicine den. Jayfeather watched Cinderheart leave. He felt as if a claw sliced his heart in two. He rested his head on his paws and closed his blind eyes. Cinderheart walked out into the clearing, her vision clouded and her pawsteps lazy and careless. She seriously didn't care about anything around her. Lionblaze padded over to her and meowed angrily, "What happened!? What did Jayfeather do!?" he looked worried. Cinderheart, shocked, didn't reply. She pushed past Lionblaze and slunk away, head hanging low and tail trailing slowly behind her. "Cinderheart!" Lionblaze called out in a worried voice. Again, Cinderheart ignored completely. Cinderheart found her nest in the darkness of the Warriors den and curled up in it, her nose tucked beneath her paws. Her tail wrapped around her paws and her dark blue eyes closed. She started whimpering and bawling like a helpless kit that had lost it's mother. Lionblaze padded into the Warriors den behind her and sat down. "Cinderheart?" "What!?" Cinderheart meowed, frustratedly. "What if Jayfeather's not the cat for you?" he meowed slowly. "I never said he was, Lionblaze! Besides, he's a Medicine cat and he can't have a mate!" "Will you take a walk in the forest with me?" Lionblaze suddenly asked. "Sure..." she meowed slowly and stood up. The moon shone brightly above Cinderheart as she walked through the forest with Lionblaze. "Are we more than friends?" Lionblaze asked slowly. "Maybe," Cinderheart meowed, sweetly and started to quicken her pace, playfully. Lionblaze followed, laughing. "Haha!" Cinderheart laughed out and ran fast. Lionblaze followed quickly, laughing louder now. Maybe Jayfeather and I really aren't meant to be..., Cinderheart thought to herself as she stopped, Lionblaze stopping too, and touched noses with him. Lionblaze sat down on his haunches. Cinderheart did as well. "Will you be my mate?" Lionblaze asked. Cinderheart's heart beat fast. She didn't know what to say. She cared for Jayfeather so deeply, but she could never be with him and she knew it. "Can I think about it?" she asked quietly. Lionblaze nodded frantically. "Of COURSE!" he meowed loudly. Cinderheart smiled as bright as the sun at the sun-drown place and padded towards the camp. Lionblaze followed, not smiling anymore. Jayfeather sat outside of the Medicine den, awaiting Cinderheart's arrival. As soon as the bramble entrance rustled, Jayfeather's fur puffed up. Cinderheart walked into camp, Lionblaze by her side. Jayfeather's heart sank, he stood up. What would happen now? Did Cinderheart still like him? Cinderheart ran off away from Lionblaze, who called out her name angrily, and into Jayfeather's Medicine den and stood in the entrance. "Jayfeather?" she meowed. Jayfeather's voice came from the shadows near the small waterfall, "Go away, Cinderheart." he hissed coldly. Cinderheart flinched at his tone then slowly, taking in all her bravery and caring for Jayfeather, crept toward him. Jayfeather stood and he scrabbled out of the shadows. "Jayfeather, are you okay?" she mewed quietly. Cinderheart purred before adding, "Jayfeather... I think I love yo--" "YOU CAN'T LOVE ME! I'm only... a--" --Jayfeather looked down, his forehead fur slipping down-- "I'M A MEDICINE CAT!" he yowled out. Cinderheart's eyes looked glossy as she turned. Her tail stood up straight behind her. "SO WHAT!? JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A MEDICINE CAT, I CAN'T CARE FOR YOU!? I can feel... I can feel whatever I want," she said, quieting down slowly. She ran away. Jayfeather's eyes looked glossy. His blind gaze hit the ground and he lay down on his paws. He shrugged away the feeling of terror for losing the one he truly cared for. The words played back in his head. "YOU CAN'T LOVE ME!" "I CAN'T CARE FOR YOU!" Jayfeather whimpered loudly and started to whine. Cinderheart stood outside the Warriors den, staring back at the Medicine den over her shoulder. She stood for what seemed like seasons then turned around. Cinderheart couldn't stand the feeling of losing Jayfeather, so she ran to Jayfeather's den and stood in the entrance. Jayfeather looked up from the ground and tasted the air. "Cinderheart?" he meowed. Cinderheart threw herself beside Jayfeather and gave him brisk licks between the ears. She rolled him over with one paw playfully and stood over him. Jayfeather's blind eyes widened blankly. A smirk crept up on his face and he pawed her ear playfully. Cinderheart opened her jaws to speak, but Jayfeather silenced her with a flick of his tail to her flank. The nighttime came and Jayfeather lied with Cinderheart in his nest. Cinderheart smiled. "I should go before someone notices I was gone." she mewed quietly. "Of course." Jayfeather smiled. He licked her ear and stood, stretching his legs. Cinderheart rubbed her nose into Jayfeather's scruff before departing. She stretched on her way out of the den. Lionblaze padded up to her quickly. He opened his jaws to speak, but before he could, he tasted the air. "I smell Jayfeather on you...," he leaned closer and added, "and... you...--" "OH WELL! GOTTA RUN!" Cinderheart interrupted and ran to the Warriors den. She found her nest quickly and lied down. She closed her eyes tightly, begging sleep to come. Jayfeather lay in his nest, happy and prideful. He had done what he'd always wanted to. Lionblaze stormed into Jayfeather's den and stared at him. "You little fox dung!" Lionblaze roared and charged at Jayfeather. Jayfeather jumped up and dodged just in time. Lionblaze rammed into the wall, into the herb shop, and on the ground. Jayfeather hissed. "Get out, Lionblaze!" he grumbled. Lionblaze shook his head. "YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!" he roared.'' Jayfeather's ears pricked. Does he mean Cinderheart!?'' he thought. "CINDERHEART!" Lionblaze roared. "Cinderheart forced herself on me!" Jayfeather yowled. "That doesn't make a difference! You could have stopped her you useless, blind cat!" Lionblaze hissed. Jayfeather closed his eyes and shook his head. "GET OUT OF MY DEN!" he roared out and shoved his brother with his paws. Lionblaze backed away. He swatted at his brother with unsheathed claws. Jayfeather jumped backward and fell into a pile of dock leaves. Lionblaze turned. "You lost yourself a brother!" he hissed. "Would Hollyleaf want you to fight like this!?" the voice of Cinderheart yowled. "Cinderheart!" Lionblaze exclaimed. "Hollyleaf is missing! Would she really want to come back and find you two like this!?" Cinderheart meowed. "N...No..." Lionblaze stammered. Jayfeather sat up and stared into space, though Cinderheart felt as if he were listening intently to her words. Lionblaze looked at his brother. "I'm sorry, Jayfeather," he meowed slowly. Jayfeather hissed and turned around. He curled up in his nest. "I'll forgive you when I wish," he grumbled. Lionblaze stared doubtfully at Cinderheart and shouldered his way out of the den. Cinderheart raised her eyebrows worriedly and padded over to him. She laid down next to him and meowed, "You can forgive me whenever you want to as well." she murmured in his ear and ran her tail along his spine. Jayfeather stared up at her with hopeful eyes and touched his nose to hers affectionately. Firestar finished the story of how Leafpool died then added, "But we still haven't found the cat responsible," "Could it have been...--" Sandstorm began slowly. "It was Hollyleaf," meowed Jayfeather, angrily. Cinderheart shot an angry look at Jayfeather. "WHAT!?" she yowled. "She killed Ashfur already! What would stop her from killing Leafpool!?" Jayfeather inquired. Cinderheart's heart skipped a beat and her pelt rose. "Jayfeather!" she meowed then stormed out of Firestar's den. Firestar watched them, wondering what Jayfeather would do. Jayfeather stood up on his paws and padded out of the den. Cinderheart sat in the clearing of the stone hollow. She couldn't believe Jayfeather thought Hollyleaf, her own best friend and his own sister, would kill Leafpool! Talk about once in a blue moon. Jayfeather bounded over to Cinderheart and smiled. "Cinderheart?" he meowed gently. "What, Jayfeather?" meowed Cinderheart in an annoyed voice. He said nothing but sit down next to her. "I'm sorry." Cinderheart let out a sigh. "It's alright," meowed Jayfeather in a bothered voice. How could he get Cinderheart to believe him? He added slowly, "I miss Leafpool already." "I hope it wasn't Hollyleaf... you know... that killed her...--" "It was Hollyleaf, Cinderheart!" Jayfeather insisted. "How do you know, Jayfeather!?" Cinderheart mumbled. "Because...," Jayfeather let out a breath, "I saw it through Leafpool's eyes," he confessed. Cinderheart's eyes twinkled a little. "You have a power, just like Lionblaze..." she meowed slowly. "Yes. It's normal for a Medicine cat, though... I guess," Jayfeather replied quickly, not wanting to know Cinderheart's reaction to him having powers. "Oh," Cinderheart mewed. The sun set and the stone hollow grew cold. Jayfeather found it hard to sleep in the Medicine den, knowing Cinderheart was now in the nursery. What punishment would he and Cinderheart endure for breaking the Warrior Code? Then, one thought in particular popped into his head: Why is that rule even IN the Warrior Code, anyway? "Jayfeather?" mewed a familiar voice. Jayfeather lifted his head and his blind gaze hit the unknown cat in the entrance. He tasted the air carefully. "Leafpool?" he meowed. "Yes, my kit," Leafpool mewed in her same soft voice. Jayfeather looked around. "Am I dreaming?" he inquired. "Yes. I am coming to tell you of your mate, Cinderheart," "Well, get on with it!" hissed Jayfeather, impatiently. "There is a fate for her bigger than you may not be able to handle alone, so I will be by your side," Leafpool meowed. "What?" Jayfeather asked, confused. Though, the Medicine cat was already starting to fade, she murmured these words: "Be aware of a murderous relative..." and with that, she disappeared completely. Jayfeather thought about what she had said. Murderous relative...? Hollyleaf! Could Hollyleaf still be alive, even after the den collapsed on her? Jayfeather thought. If so, he had to find her, or else... what kind of brother would he be? Cinderheart padded over to the fresh-kill pile. As she nosed her way through tiny bodies, she realized other cats were staring at her. Brambleclaw and Lionblaze in particular. Cinderheart, feeling uncomfortable, picked out a sparrow, quickly, and sped back to the nursery. Had the cats lost their trust in her...? All because she fell in love? Cinderheart didn't want to find out. She ate her fresh-kill at the mouth of the nursery, cleaned her paws, and curled up comfortably in her nest. Cinderheart had the feeling in her belly that her kits would soon arrive. Then, it was only a matter of time till she could prove she was still loyal to her clan. Jayfeather had made up a small pile of traveling herbs. He didn't know how long he'd be gone, searching for his sister. Jayfeather ate his herbs then made his way out of his den and out of the stone hollow to find his littermate. Lionblaze, seeing his brother's depart, followed not far behind. After a while, Jayfeather said without looking back, "You can come out now, Lionblaze. If you were to try and follow me without" --Jayfeather flicked his tail, amused-- "me noticing you, don't let your tail stick out like that." Lionblaze crawled out from beneath the bush he was hiding under, his pelt hot with embarrassment. "Again, I see, like when we were going to the mountains, you forgot about the tail," Jayfeather meowed. "Sh-sh-shut up!" meowed Lionblaze, like he did when he was a kit. "Whatever you doing out here, Jayfeather I don't like it. Wait... this is the path to the tunnels...!" You're looking for Hollyleaf, aren't you!?" Lionblaze meowed. "So what if I am!?" Jayfeather hissed back. "She's. Dead. Move on, Jayfeather. I mean... I miss her too... a lot... but she died in the tunnels...--" Lionblaze began. "You don't know that!" Jayfeather spat back. "Neither do you! Come on. You have Cinderheart. What if you die in the tunnels!? What'll I tell her!?" Lionblaze meowed. At that, Jayfeather turned and padded past. "You're a mouse-brain," he meowed. "Well, you're a fox-brain," meowed Lionblaze. Jayfeather sped past all the other cats and to the nursery. He stopped with a start at the sight of Sorreltail hunched over Cinderheart and Brackenfur pacing back and forth. "Sorreltail... what's going on--?" he was cut off by a yowl from Cinderheart. Jayfeather jumped back. Sorreltail stepped back and Jayfeather immediately took her place. He then realized that Cinderheart was going to have her kits. Jayfeather whipped his head around. "Sorreltail, get me some moss soaked in water and some Borage leaves from the herb store. They're hairy leaves onto the right," Sorreltail nodded and pelted off into the clearing and to the medicine den. Brackenfur crawled over to Jayfeather slowly. "What can I do?" he asked. "You can get out of my way and help Sorreltail the best you can," he ordered. Brackenfur let out a hiss, but he wasn't going to argue. He stepped back a little, but still worriedly, he paced back and forth. Cinderheart's wide eyes flashed to Jayfeather. Jayfeather's blind eyes blinked, worriedly. "Jayfeather...?" Cinderheart meowed, exhausted. After what seemed like seasons, Jayfeather and Cinderheart had three beautiful kits. One was striped dark gray onto his lighter gray pelt, like Jayfeather. The other was completely black tom with solid white eyes. The final was the runt of the litter, an adorable gray-white she-cat. That was probably carried down from Whitestorm, Cinderheart's grandfather. "They're so beautiful," Jayfeather mewed slowly. Cinderheart smiled, tired. "I want to name the white she-cat Snowkit," "I want the striped tom to be named Stormkit," Jayfeather pressed his muzzle to Cinderheart's. "And the last one... I want him to be Nightkit," Cinderheart meowed. "So this is what happened while I was gone, eh!?" meowed the ringing voice of someone Jayfeather thought he'd never see again. "Hollyleaf!?" he meowed loudly to the black she-cat in the entrance to the nursery. The new kits started mewling and screaming till they found their mother's warm belly again. Jayfeather stood in front of Cinderheart, protectively, and hissed, "I thought you were dead!" "I was," Hollyleaf replied, hissing between the two words. Jayfeather stood, his neck fur bristling, as Hollyleaf entered the medicine den. She hissed, warning Jayfeather not to go near her. Hollyleaf ran at Jayfeather and shoved him against the wall, like a rabid cat. She let out a growl as she swiped Jayfeather across the muzzle. Jayfeather fell to the floor of the nursery with a cry of shock. Hollyleaf stalked over to Cinderheart and stared down. "So... Jayfeather... has... kits.. now?" she sounded surprised. "Y-Yes," Cinderheart stuttered. "Get... Get away from her!" Jayfeather struggled to stand. Hollyleaf turned around and ran at Jayfeather with such force, she knocked him into the clearing. Jayfeather hissed and ran back into the nursery. He grabbed Hollyleaf by the tail and bit down. Hard. Hollyleaf slashed at Jayfeather's face over and over. She finally got him off his feet, but she was off hers too. Jayfeather jumped up quickly, only to be knocked over again. Eventually, the fight was carried out into the clearing. Lionblaze stared at the battle as he ran into the camp. He forced himself in front of all the other cats and stood there. He stared in disbelief at Hollyleaf, tossing himself at the fight. Before he could reach Jayfeather, he felt heavy paws knock him to the ground. "FIRESTAR!" shouted Lionblaze. Firestar hissed. "Jayfeather HAS to die. It's part of the prophecy," Firestar meowed as he held Lionblaze beneath his heavy paws. Lionblaze jerked his head to the right, not wanting to watch the gruesome fight between his siblings. In only a matter of seconds, Jayfeather felt himself tugged to the ground and beneath Hollyleaf's paws. Hollyleaf bit down hard on Jayfeather's neck until blood sputtered everywhere from the wound. Jayfeather seemed to not care. He swiped at Hollyleaf, his claws unsheathed, and landed a blow over her eyes. Hollyleaf leaped backward and jumped at Jayfeather once more, blindly. She ended up hitting Jayfeather's neck. She bit him again. By now, all the cats, excluding Cinderheart who was feeding her kits but nervously waiting while her mother told her all the details from outside the nursery, were gathered around to watch their medicine cat die. Firestar flinched as he saw Hollyleaf bite the all-important vein. The jugular. At that exact moment, Jayfeather went limp. Fox Dung! I can't be dead! I can't die! What about Cinderheart!? I need her! Mouse dung! Jayfeather saw his mother, Leafpool, walking to him slowly, saying, "Come home, my son." Jayfeather stopped fighting and struggling for a grip on life, and finally let go. "I'm here," he meowed slowly. Category:Fire of land